Wildcat on a tear

You need to look no further than the list of schools that recruited her to know Marisa Bast is an intelligent softball player.

Princeton, Stanford, Notre Dame and the University of Virginia were among those that offered Bast a scholarship, but the former Villa Park High star ultimately decided to move to Evanston, Ill., to play for Northwestern.

"Once I stepped onto the Northwestern campus and interacted with the coaches and the girls, I knew it was going to be the right fit for me," she said. "I just really appreciated their sense of family and how much emphasis they placed on academics."

In addition to her heavy workload in class, there's one subject Bast spends a vast amount of time studying: hitting.

In 2011, Bast started 42 games as a freshman, and hit a respectable .287 in the competitive Big Ten Conference. Despite the success, she was not satisfied with her plate discipline.

"It was a little overwhelming at times, and it felt like I was swimming in the deep end a lot," she said. "Once I got my feet underneath me, I took every game by the horns."

In the offseason, Bast spent much time working on her approach inside the batter's box – pitch recognition, selection – with Associate Head Coach Caryl Drohan. The work more than paid off.

Bast broke out her sophomore season, improving her batting average to .414, and establishing herself as one of the premier hitters in the country.

In addition to leading the Big Ten in batting average, the third baseman led the conference with 63 runs batted in and finished second with 13 home runs – one shy of winning the Big Ten's Triple Crown.

"She's already left her mark on our program, and the thing that really stands out to me is her work ethic," Head Coach Kate Drohan said. "She is a tireless worker and a very smart softball player."

Bast's breakout season garnered national accolades and earned her a spot on the All-Big Ten first team. Prior to this season, she was named to the Top 50 "Watch List" for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

Hitting third this season, Bast is seeing the consequences of her stellar sophomore year. Fastballs over the middle of the plate are a thing of the past since pitchers are much more precautious when she steps into the box.

"When you're batting third or fourth at a Division I program, you're not going to be thrown balls over the middle of the plate," Kate Drohan said.

Bast's mere presence in the lineup has helped her team, though. If pitchers choose to pitch around her, the rest of the Wildcats' lineup sees more strikes.

Despite hitting .293 so far, five of her teammates are above .300. (When she hit .414 last season, only three teammates hit higher than .270.) Her average may be down, but Bast has still launched a team-best seven home runs with 25 RBI.

"Regardless of the accolades, or whoever is talking about her, no one puts more pressure on Marisa than herself," Kate Drohan said. "She has high standards, regardless of what other people think.

"That's really the one thing that I respect about her: the standard she holds herself to."